In most exercise or athletic training sessions, coaches provide the necessary incentive, encouragement and feedback about the level of effort being exerted by the performer. Such feedback is particularly important when the performer is trying to maintain a particular pace of activity for a period of time. Unfortunately, involvement by a coach is not always possible or practical. Further, many athletes train by doing distance workouts in a closed course environment such as a swimming pool or track. In such training workouts, the athlete must be able to pace himself as well as count the number of laps completed.
A variety of pacing devices have been disclosed in the prior art. For swimmers, such pacing devices include those in which a point of light moves clockwise around a "clock-like" circle of light emitting diodes in accordance with a preset pace time as taught by U.K. Patent No. 2,169,112. One revolution of the clock-like circle equates to a given pace time. However, the clock-like circle tends to mislead a swimmer since one revolution is most commonly equated with 60 seconds and not a preset pace time that may differ greatly from 60 seconds. In addition, the clock-like pacing device is maintained outside of the pool and therefore requires the swimmer to lift his head out of the water to look at the device which is usually placed at the end of the pool. However, as a swimmer raises his head out of the water to view the pacing device, water beads up on the swimmer's goggles and may obscure his vision. This not only makes it difficult to view the pacing device, but also diverts the swimmer's attention at a time when he may need to concentrate on executing a flip turn. The clock-like pacing device is also limited to a single pace. However, a long distance swimmer may want to train in accordance with a pace that changes (i.e., increases or decreases) during the course of a single event. Finally, the number of lights required to create a clock-like circle dictates that the ultimate device will be of a size, complexity and cost that is impractical for the average self-coached athlete.
Another type of training system designed for lap swimming, as well as running or biking on a track, involves the use of a flexible tube laid alongside the pool or track. The tube contains a series of internally arranged lamps that are sequentially illuminated in accordance with a frequency that equates to a preset pace time. Practically, this type of system requires a great deal of set-up time and lacks the portability for it to be useful in most training applications.